WORCESTER -- Although questions surrounding the legality of President Donald Trump's travel ban have dominated the news in recent weeks, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, offered Thursday that another of the Republican's executive orders could face constitutional challenges.

The senator, during a Worcester meeting with reporters, argued that Trump's late-January order to strip federal grant funding from so-called sanctuary cities, which don't arrest or detain immigrants in the country illegally, violates the Constitution.

Pointing to the U.S. Supreme Court's opinion in an Affordable Care Act case, Warren said the court stated that the federal government cannot use a grant in one area to punish a state or locality that does not follow another federal policy that it hopes to promote.

"Donald Trump has been very clear about this: his view is that federal money should be used as a weapon against local mayors and police forces who believe that their communities are safer when they are not acting as agents of (Immigration and Customs Enforcement,)" she said. "That executive order is unconstitutional."

The senator, who stressed that she is "in this fight," said lawsuits against the order are already pending. She, however, noted that, to her knowledge, the federal government hasn't yet tried to enforce the sanctuary city executive action.

Warren is among several Massachusetts Democrats who have spoken out against the president's efforts to crack down on so-called sanctuary city funding.

U.S. Sen. Ed Markey, D-Massachusetts, argued that order "will result in raids, mass deportations and fear and terror within our immigrant communities."

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh also criticized the order, contending in a January CNN piece that he would use City Hall "to shelter and protect" immigrants, if necessary.

Mayor Domenic Sarno, however, split with Democrats in his reaction to Trump's executive order, contending that Springfield is not a sanctuary city and he has no intentions to make it one.

The mayor stressed that he is "not going to jeopardize millions and millions of (federal) dollars that come to the city of Springfield." He added that city police will continue to work with federal officials if they are tracking "violent repeat offenders."

"So we are not going to harbor or protect anybody who has committed hideous type crimes," Sarno said.